Aiming for the first victory of the season in J1 at home

Considering the ACL schedule, the match for Sec. 3 of the 1st stage will be held on Friday. We will face Vissel Kobe at home.

After narrowly defeating Sendai in the previous match, this is a game aiming for two consecutive league wins. However, in the most recent official matches, they have conceded the first goal for four consecutive games. Therefore, they want to focus on risk management to minimize goals conceded.　

Tokyo's starting lineup is the same as in the Sendai match, with Tanabe on the right side, Hashimoto as a defensive midfielder, and Ogawa as the left side back. Morishige and Yonemoto, who left the Japan national team training camp due to foot injuries, have also worked hard to adjust and are included in the starting lineup.

A night game welcomed in the cold with no sunlight during the day and a temperature of 6.2 degrees. The attendance was 11,488, which is below the lowest ever for a J1 league match at Ajinomoto (12,552 for the C Osaka match in Sec. 12, February 2001), but still, the players united in saying, "We want to do our best to share joy with our fans and supporters," and the match kicked off in Tokyo at 19:04.

Both teams are playing a solid match, and the time of patience continues.

From the start, both teams entered the match cautiously and steadily. When Tokyo advanced into the opponent's territory, they were immediately subjected to intense pressure from Kobe, resulting in an increasing number of fouls.

2 minutes: From a free kick earned by Maeda after a foul in a position slightly to the right in front of the area, Morishige aims for the goal.
11 minutes: A free kick was awarded on the right side. Ogawa's kick was blocked by the goalkeeper's punch, but Abe connected, and Morishige took another shot from distance. 12 minutes: Kobe cleared the ball sent to the goal area from a throw-in. Hashimoto, who followed Yonemoto on the left side, turned his body and shot.

17 minutes: This time, Abe received a foul, leading to a free kick just outside the right area. The opponent's clearance flowed to just outside the left area, and Abe struck a volley.
22 minutes: Abe, just in front of the left area, controlled the ball with his chest trap and took a shot with his left foot. However, both went off target.
30 minutes: After a quick exchange of passes on the right front line, Abe picked up the loose ball and Maeda broke through on the right front line, crossing in front of the goal. However, Higashi, who ran in from the front, just missed it.

Unable to capitalize on the chances, in the final stages, Kobe maintained possession of the ball. In response, Tokyo remained calm and maintained a compact formation. They continued to repel Kobe's long balls, preventing any dangerous situations.

36 minutes: From Tokyo's corner kick, after a counter from Kobe, Kobe's left back Soma passed to FW Leandro in the center, but FW Watanabe's shot was blocked and went wide left, ending the first half scoreless.

Gaining rhythm, Abe marks his first league goal just before the end after joining!

Tokyo changed positions in the second half, with Higashi moving to FW and Abe shifting to the left side to aim for a goal. This proved effective, as they began to create chances starting from the left side.

47 minutes: Attacking from the left side, Yonemoto reacted to a loose ball from the scramble in front of the goal. He aimed with a sliding tackle from just outside the left area, but it was blocked.
53 minutes: Created a scoring opportunity. Connecting quickly from their own half, Abe on the left side faked out the opposing defender and broke through vertically, delivering a short final pass to the center. Tanabe made a run and connected with a perfect header, but... the ball just barely went over the bar.

64 minutes: Hashimoto advanced to the right front line and earned a corner kick. Ogawa's low kick was met by Maeda at the near post, but the shot went wide of the goal.
67 minutes: Mizunuma comes on for Higashi.
72 minutes: Sandaza was brought in to replace Tanabe. The pressure on the goal increased further.
76 minutes: Sandaza was fouled, resulting in a free kick just in front of the penalty arc on the right side, which Maruyama aimed for. He shot just inside the right post, but it was blocked by the GK's save. Following that, from the right corner kick, Hashimoto fell and took a shot, but it went wide to the left.

88 minutes: Pushing the entire team forward, Morishige passed to Tokunaga along the right touchline, who then played it to Mizunuma and continued to overlap. From a one-touch pass between Mizunuma and Hashimoto inside, Tokunaga delivered a grounded cross from just outside the right area. The ball went past Maeda in front and Sandaza, but was sent to Abe, who was free in the left area, and Abe calmly slotted it in with his left foot for a goal!!

Breaking down the right side, Abe marks his first league goal since transferring to Tokyo! This became the final round point, dramatically securing 3 points and achieving back-to-back league victories.

[Player Comments]
《Abe》
"It was a match of endurance. Considering the content of the match, there are many points that need improvement. Still, securing 3 points is the most important. The goal came from a good ball from Tokunaga. The way I entered there was something we practiced. Our attacking line has a lot to reflect on, and we won this match because the players in the back held strong. I want to create more chances and score goals."

Tokunaga
"(Regarding the scoring scene) Mizunuma, Hashimoto, and I broke through the side together, and Abe was in position at the far post. I saw that, so I sent a cross to the far post. It was as I aimed, but it might have been a difficult ball. He finished it well. I focus on maintaining balance on the right side and aim to overlap at the right moment to create scoring opportunities even with limited attacks. In the first half, Kobe was tight, but we talked about how it would open up in the second half, and there was a feeling that we could score. We were able to exploit that well."

【Summary of Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference】
"It turned into a tense match, but Kobe had a total of 3 shots. In the second half, we didn't allow a single shot. I want to take that as a positive point. Our foundation lies in solid defense. However, in the last 4 matches, we conceded the first goal. Today was a frustrating game, but we were able to maintain a defense without gaps throughout the 90 minutes. The issue was that we couldn't calm the game down in the first half. In the second half, it was about finishing, but the training for the attack we aim for is something we want to continue throughout the year. Even so, to earn points, I believe defense like today's is necessary. On a weekday, and in very cold conditions, I wanted to give the fans and supporters who came the feeling that 'it was worth coming.' I think it was good that we ultimately secured the victory."

[Kobe - NELSINHO Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"I think we were able to respond well to the defensive plan of building a block. However, our attacks after winning the ball were not good. We need to improve the quality of our counterattacks aimed at the spaces in the opponent's half quickly. I talked to the players about this at halftime, but in the second half, the quality of our attacks was still lacking, and we missed opportunities to supply the ball to the front line. If we continue to play like that, it will become easier for the opponent to defend against us. We lost the rhythm of the match."